Do I Need A New Another Credit Card?

[stan_the_man]

Here's the deal. After, after being on this site for the last couple months and seeing various financial reviews and AAs, I'm concerned that I might over-exposed to an AA or fraud/theft/lost card.

I currently have 5 major credit cards with the following limits:

• Amex Blue - $10K+
• Amex Cash Rewards (trying to product change to Amex Hilton HHonors) - $2K
• Macy's Visa (DSNB/Citibank) - $10K+
• Chase Visa - $10K+
• GM Card MasterCard (HSBC) - $300

Right now, two of my four cards with limits over $1,000 are Amex-network cards issued by Amex, but soon -- after Macy's converts to Amex later this month -- 3 of my 4 trade lines above $1,000 will be Amex-network cards.

While I don't frequently run into merchant that don't accept Amex, I know that Amex acceptance can be an issue. Basically, if something were to happen to my Chase card (AA or fraud/theft/lost card) I would be stuck without a way to pay for a transaction above $300 if Amex cards were not accepted.

Question #1: Do you think this a legitimate concern, or should I not be concerned about this?

For reference, here are some additional stats to consider:

• Account History: 12 Years, 1 Month
• AAoA: 8 years
• Last New Trade Line: 5 Years Ago
• Transunion Fico (9/2010): 780
• Equifax Fico (7/2010): 799
• Experian Plus Score (Same score for the last three years): 788
• Inquires: EX - 0, TU - 1, EQ - 1 (possibly 2 - don't have an updated report to see if Macy's CLI request was scored as soft or hard)
• No negative information ever

Question #2: If I do get a new card, what card should I get?

My criteria are:

• Card Network: Visa or MasterCard (no additional exposure to Amex, and strong national and worldwide network -- that leaves out Discover)
• Card Issuer: Not Amex, DSNB, Citibank, HSBC or Chase (reduce exposure to potential AA by existing banks)
• Credit Limit: Issuer not concerned with multiple existing $10K+ limits (all cards except Blue report a balance of $0)
• Card Usage: Issuer not concerned about low usage (<$100 / month with a limit of $8K or more)
• Fees: No annual fee

Any card I would get would most likely be a truly emergency card that I would use once per month to prevent an AA. Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

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@stan_the_man wrote:

Here's the deal. After, after being on this site for the last couple months and seeing various financial reviews and AAs, I'm concerned that I might over-exposed to an AA or fraud/theft/lost card.         How?

I currently have 5 major credit cards with the following limits:

• Amex Blue - $10K+
• Amex Cash Rewards (trying to product change to Amex Hilton HHonors) - $2K
• Macy's Visa (DSNB/Citibank) - $10K+
• Chase Visa - $10K+
• GM Card MasterCard (HSBC) - $300

Right now, two of my four cards with limits over $1,000 are Amex-network cards issued by Amex, but soon -- after Macy's converts to Amex later this month -- 3 of my 4 trade lines above $1,000 will be Amex-network cards.

While I don't frequently run into merchant that don't accept Amex, I know that Amex acceptance can be an issue. Basically, if something were to happen to my Chase card (AA or fraud/theft/lost card) I would be stuck without a way to pay for a transaction above $300 if Amex cards were not accepted.    Ok, this is your worry.

Question #1: Do you think this a legitimate concern, or should I not be concerned about this?

For reference, here are some additional stats to consider:

• Account History: 12 Years, 1 Month
• AAoA: 8 years
• Last New Trade Line: 5 Years Ago
• Transunion Fico (9/2010): 780
• Equifax Fico (7/2010): 799
• Experian Plus Score (Same score for the last three years): 788
• Inquires: EX - 0, TU - 1, EQ - 1 (possibly 2 - don't have an updated report to see if Macy's CLI request was scored as soft or hard)
• No negative information ever

Looking Great!   Nice work!  

If you are worry about something happen to your Chase VISA, why not apply for one. 

Question #2: If I do get a new card, what card should I get?

My criteria are:

• Card Network: Visa or MasterCard (no additional exposure to Amex, and strong national and worldwide network -- that leaves out Discover)
• Card Issuer: Not Amex, DSNB, Citibank, HSBC or Chase (reduce exposure to potential AA by existing banks)
• Credit Limit: Issuer not concerned with multiple existing $10K+ limits (all cards except Blue report a balance of $0)
• Card Usage: Issuer not concerned about low usage (<$100 / month with a limit of $8K or more)
• Fees: No annual fee

Any card I would get would most likely be a truly emergency card that I would use once per month to prevent an AA. Thanks for your help.

How about apply with Citi or CU?

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[Gray]

My wife's GM Card limit is $20,000. Your limit is $300? Seriously? Do you use it to buy chewing gum?

[stan_the_man]

@Gray -- The GM Card was once $3,200 -- ironically when I had no income in college. They cut the credit limit twice (quite deservingly) when I sock drawered their card for 7 years -- the CLDs were after 5 and years of non-usage. The only reason I haven't closed it myself is because it's my oldest card and I hope to get a real limit on it sometime soon so that I an add my wife as an AU with the expectation that she

To answer your question. Yes, I more or less buy about $5-$10 (2-4 times per month) with the GM Card and then make an online payment right when I get home.

If HSBC were to offer CLIs, that would probably solve my problem, but they are not offering anyone on this site CLIs that they request (a few people here say they've gotten small auto-CLIs over the past two months).

[stan_the_man]

Is there enough separation between DSNB and Citibank to safely consider them to be two different card issuers?

[haulingthescoreup]

* bumping for more eyes to see *

This is a legitimate concern, IMO. It's not quite the same as worrying about having too many cards from the same bank, but since American Express cards aren't accepted everywhere, it would be a bit scary to have only one Chase Visa to do any heavy lifting at non-AmEx stores. Because ya just never know with Chase.

  --Or any other bank, for that matter.

Reposting stan's credit profile and his very-well-thought-out criteria for a possible additional card. Stan, have you ever gotten any offers from US Bank? Are there any branches in your state? (Sometimes they're only in smaller, rural towns, but they won't issue a card if they don't have a branch somewhere in your state, AFAIK.) You look like a prime customer for them, and they're a good bank. Also, can you establish eligibility for any of the nation-wide credit unions? PenFed would probably adore you, unless they got weird about your inqs. They're easy to qualify for, by joining the National Military Families Association (it's to support military families; you don't have to be in a military family) or by joining the National Red Cross.

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@stan_the_man wrote:

. . .

• Account History: 12 Years, 1 Month
• AAoA: 8 years
• Last New Trade Line: 5 Years Ago
• Transunion Fico (9/2010): 780
• Equifax Fico (7/2010): 799
• Experian Plus Score (Same score for the last three years): 788
• Inquires: EX - 0, TU - 1, EQ - 1 (possibly 2 - don't have an updated report to see if Macy's CLI request was scored as soft or hard)
• No negative information ever

My criteria are:

• Card Network: Visa or MasterCard (no additional exposure to Amex, and strong national and worldwide network -- that leaves out Discover)
• Card Issuer: Not Amex, DSNB, Citibank, HSBC or Chase (reduce exposure to potential AA by existing banks)
• Credit Limit: Issuer not concerned with multiple existing $10K+ limits (all cards except Blue report a balance of $0)
• Card Usage: Issuer not concerned about low usage (<$100 / month with a limit of $8K or more)
• Fees: No annual fee

Any card I would get would most likely be a truly emergency card that I would use once per month to prevent an AA. Thanks for your help.

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[stan_the_man]

The only offers I've been getting recently is for the Discover More. U.S. Bank is out of the question, because they don't have any branches around D.C.

I actually applied to the United Services of America Federal Credit Union today so that I can into Navy Fed:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Navy-Fed-Will-Merge-604M-USA-Fed/td-p/736162

That should fill my need for a new card quite well. I noticed that I can walk to both a coop branch and an actual Navy Fed branch from my house (the only reason I would use the coop is that I figure that it's probably going to be a pain in the butt to demonstrate to go through security at the Washington Navy Yard every time I want to go to the bank).

[jforsyth]

Have you considered PenFed? Their Cashback Visa is one of the best cards out there. 5% on gas, 2% supermarkets, 1% everything else. However, it can be difficult to get your foot in the door with them. If you do have 2 potential inquiries on EQ (which is the bureau they pull), you might want to wait until you have 1 or even 0. They can be pretty picky, but once you're in, they're generous.

Another option you might have overlooked is Citi Forward. While this card is aimed at a younger crowd, it has great rewards in its bonus categories. ~3.5% cash back for restaurants, movies, and bookstores (which includes ALL amazon.com purchases, regardless of whether or not you're buying a book). It's a good card if you're taking a significant other out on the weekends and picking up the tab. Visa network, and a major bank. Citi usually pulls EX, and is also fairly generous with credit lines and CLIs.

EDIT: Yeah, I totally missed where you said no Citi. I don't think you should be too, too concerned. Clearly you're on top of your credit. If you get AA, you'll be able to recover easily with another lender.

[Anonymous]

Without a doubt go for a Platinum First Premier... With your credit history, it's the logical next step!!

[stan_the_man]

I got my wife off that bank with a little credit grooming right after we got married last year. Even if First Premier offered prime cards, they couldn't pay me to app or use their card.